Automatic sewing and the like apparatus



Sept. 28, 1965 R. REEBER AUTOMATIC SEWING AND THE LIKE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 20, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @y WM.

Sept. 28, 1965 R. REEBER 3,208,415

AUTOMATIC SEWING AND THE LIKE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 20, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

R udolf @EEB E' frm/wey United States Patent O 3,208,415 AUTOMATIC SEWING AND THE LIKE APPARATUS Rudolf Reeber, Kaiserslautern, Pfalz, Germany, assignor to G. M. Pfaff A.G., Kaiserslautern, Pfalz, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Feb. 20, 1963, Ser. No. 259,862 Claims priority, application Germany, Feb. 28, 1962, P 28,870 6 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) The present invention relates to automatic sewing and the like apparatus, more particularly, though not limitatively, of the type described in U.S. patent application Serial No. 243,188, filed December 3, 1962, entitled Program-Controlled Automatic Sewing Apparatus, of which the present applicant is joint inventor and which application has been assigned to the same assignee as the instant application. The apparatus disclosed and described by said prior application, which is hereby embodied in the instant application by reference, comprises essentially a sewing or the like machine including stitch-forming means, a bed, a work-supporting carrier upon said bed, and control means including a program or storage device, such as a perforated control tape, and adapted to produce a pair of elemental rotational feed output movements for displacing said carrier in two coordinate directions, whereby to sew a desired pattern upon the work supported thereby in accordance with the data recorded by said device.

Automatic sewing apparatus of this type adapted to operate on relatively large work pieces in two coordinates and according to a pre-arranged program has found its use,l for instance, in the shoe manufacturing industry. In the latter field of application, the sewing of stitching patterns on shoe parts makes it necessary, aside from the provision of mechanism for simultaneously controlling the basic size (length and width) in both coordinates, to provide additional means for adjusting a number of secondary sizes (widths) in one of the coordinate directions whereby to result in substantial bulk and mounting space being required by the control and actuating mechanism embodied in the sewing machine. Besides, there exists the requirement of a direct transmission of the feed movements produced by the control mechanism to the work or sewing goods carrier in an effort to ensure a faithful or distortion-free rendering of the extremely small elemental displacements and to minimize or eliminate any impairment of the transmission accuracy by the use of additional transmission and/or actuating devices. Inasmuch as the transmission and control mechanism cannot be arranged outside of or adjacent to the sewing machine, it becomes necessary to integrally combine the same with or to embody it in the machine structure. For this reason, the control mechanism is ordinarily mounted in the hollow standard -or upright of a sewing machine of conventional construction.

An important object of the present invention is the provision of automatic control mechanism of the type referred to which, while ybeing integrally embodied in the sewing machine structure will enable operation of the displaceable work carrier in the coordinate directions securely and eiciently by means of a minimum of feeding devices or actuating elements.

Another object of the invention is the provision of coordinate actuating mechanism for the work carrier of an automatic sewing or the like machine of the type referred to which is characterized by high transmission accuracy of the elemental coordinate feed movements from the control device to said carrier, substantially without restricting the freedom of movement of the latter and the sewing goods carried thereby in the coordinate directions.

With the foregoing as well as ancillary objects in view, as will appear from the following description, the invention, according to one of its aspects, involves generally the provision of improved operating or actuating mecha-` nism for the work carrier of an automatic sewing or the like machine of the type referred to and including a bed, a hollow standard at one end of said bed, a hollow upper arm extending from said standard parallel to said bed and terminating in a sewing head supporting a reciprocating needle which cooperates in a known manner with a loop taker mounted below said bed, said mechanism comprising essentially a first threaded input shaft and a second toothed input shaft arranged parallel to one another and rotatably mounted within said upper arm with further means being provided to impart to each said shafts one of the elemental rotational output feed movements produced by the program storage device and associated scanning and control mechanism. There is further provided improved motion-transmitting or actuating means passing through an opening in said arm between said shaft and said carrier, to apply the elemental coordinate feed movements to said carrier for the displacement thereof and sewing of a pattern upon the work supported thereby conforming to the pattern stored by the perforated tape or the like storage device.

More particularly, the actuating or feeding mechanism connecting said shafts with the work-supporting carrier comprises a rst internally threaded actuating member engaging said first shaft and a second actuating member having its outer end connected to said carrier and having its inner end slidably mounted upon said first member in a horizontal and transverse direction to said shafts. Furthermore, the second actuating member is fitted at its inner end with a rack engaging said second shaft, to complete the coordinate drive mechanism of said carrier and to displace the same in accordance with the elemental rotations or'feed movements applied to the respective input shafts.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, to ensure a maximum excursion of the`work carrier in both coordinate directions and to provide a minimum of obstruction of the work or sewing goods, the threaded input shaft is mounted closely to and above the toothed input shaft and the first actuating member is of U-shaped construction having an internally threaded yoke portion engaging said first or threaded shaft and provided with a bore to freely pass said second or toothed shaft. Said first member has a pair of depending arms extending from said yoke portion and having their ends slidably connected to said second member which has an extension forming a rack projecting upwardly between said arms and engaging the second or toothed shaft, in such a manner to provide a compact and relatively unobstrusive coordinate actuating or feeding mechanism, as Will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational cross-sectional View of a sewing machine having incorporated therein punched tape storage, retrieving and coordinate drive means constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the coordinate drive mechanism of FIG.

Referring to the latter which shows by way of example a vertical cross-section through an automatic sewing machine of the type according to the invention, the numeral 1 denotes the base of the machine from which extends the lower horizontal arm 2 forming a bed and to which is secured a hollow upright or standard 3 from which, in

turn, extends the upper or overhanging arm 4 being parallel to the arm or bed 2 and terminating in the sewing head 5. Supported in the latter is a reciprocating needle 5 cooperating with a loop taker 36 mounted within the arm 2, in accordance with conventional sewing machine design. Mounted within the upright 3 is the control mechanism 6 and coordinate distortion mechanism 7 which are indicated diagrammatically only in the drawing and which may be of any suitable type known, such as described in the above-mentioned copending application. Further shown schematically and above the control mechanism 6 is the drive 8 for the perforated control tape 11, said drive being actuated by the drive or arm shaft 10 of the sewing machine through a coupling 9 and including a step-by-step sensing or retrieving mechanism (not shown) being well known in the design and operation of perforated tape control devices known in the prior art, as shown and described, for instance, in the abovementioned co-pending application. Similar punched tape sensing and retriveal mechanism for program-controlled sewing machines is shown by U.S. Patent No. 3,029,758, issued April 17, 1962, it being understood that the design and operation of the mechanism 6, 7, 8 for producing coordinate elemental feed movements of the shafts 12 and 13 is immaterial as far as the present invention is concerned.

The control mechanism 6 has a pair of output shafts 12 and 13 supplying the elemental rotational coordinate feed movements recorded by the tape 11 and of which the former may serve to control the feed of the work in the y-coordinate and the latter may serve to control the feed of the work in the x-coordinate, in accordance with the example illustrated. For this purpose, the output shaft 12 is coupled by way of a coupling flange 12a with an input feed shaft 14 of the coordinate actuating mechanism having a coupling flange 14a, said shaft being parallel to the arm shaft 10 and rotatably supported in an extension or separating wall 4a between the arm 4 and upright 3. Similarly, the output shaft 13 is coupled by way of a coupling flange 13a with the input feed shaft 15 having a coupling flange 15a, shaft 15 also being parallel to the arm shaft 10 and rotatably supported in the extension or wall 4a. The opposite ends of the shafts 14 and 15 are journalled in the further extension or separating wall 4b between the arm 4 and head 5 of the sewing machine.

Feed shaft 14 is provided with outer spiral threads 14b engaging the inner threads 16a of a rst feed or actuating member 16 being provided with a bore 17 for freely passing the feed shaft 15 and having a pair of depending arms extending through an opening 18 in the lower part of the arm 4 of the sewing machine. In other words, in the embodiment shown, feed member 16 has an inverted U- shape with the shafts 14 and 15 engaging or passing respectively through the upper or yoke portion of the U and with the depending arms of the U terminating in a bayonet or dovetail guide 19 and slidably engaging the cooperating dovetailed second feed or actuating member 21 horizontally displaceable relative to the member 16 in a direction transverse to the shafts 14 and 15. Member 21 is in turn connected to the work carrier or frame 24 upon the bed or platform 2 through a connecting arm or link 22 having its outer end preferably removably secured to said carrier and having its inner end secured to the member 21 by means of screws 23, or in any other suitable manner. Alternatively, the arm 22 and feed member may be a single or integral element attached to the frame or carrier 24.

The toothed feed shaft 15 provided with longitudinal teeth or splines 15b engages a rack member 20 being either integral with or suitably secured to the member 21 and projecting upwardly between the depending arms of the member 16 in the embodiment illustrated. This construction of the coordinate feed mechanism comprising the feed or actuating members 16 and 21 cooperating with the feed shafts 14 and 15, has the advantage of compactness and simplicity of design, insuring a high transmission accuracy as well as of freedom from obstruction of or interference with the work displacement during a sewing operation, while ensuring a maximum excursion in either coordinate directions independently of one another and in accordance with the predetermined program of pattern stored by the tape 11.

The sewing machine and automatic control apparatus may be driven in a known manner by an electric motor (not shown) by way Aof a driving pulley 25 secured to an input drive shaft 26. The latter being journalled in extensions or brackets 27 and 28 extending from or forming part of the base 1, on the one hand, and in the separating wall 29 between said base and the arm 2, on the other hand, serves to rotate a sprocket wheel 30 which e0- operates by way of a chain 31 with a further sprocket wheel 32 mounted upon the arm shaft 10 of the machine. Secured to the end of the shaft 26 opposite to the pulley 25 is a gear 33 which meshes with a gear 35 mounted upon the shaft 34 of the loop taker 36 of known construction and cooperating with the needle 5 in forming lock stitches in the work mounted upon the frame or carrier 24, in a manner readily understood. 1n operation, the pulley 25 drives the shaft 26 which, in turn, drives the arm shaft 10 and looper shaft 34 of the machine through the sprockets 30, 32 and gears 33, 35, respectively, whereby a sew lock stitches in the work in a manner well known.

The arm shaft serves to operate the needle 5', on the one hand, and the perforated tape 11 and control mechanism 6, on the other hand, by way of the intermediate drive unit 8, mechanism 6 in turn driving the coordinate distortion control unit 7, in a maner shown and described in greater detail in the above-mentioned copending application. The ensuing rotational elemental coordinate feed movements supplied by the output shafts 12 and 13 and imparted to the feed shafts 14 and 15 by way of the couplings 14a-12a and 15a-13a, respectively, are converted into the corresponding coordinate displacements of the carrier 24 in both the xand y-directions by the feed or actuating mechanism described. As an example, the design of the feed mechanism may be such that rotation of the shaft 14 in the right or left direction will result in the displacement of the member 16, and with it of the work carrier 24, in the fore and aft directions, respectively, of the shaft 14, member 16 functioning in the manner of a traveling nut cooperating with the threads 14a forming a feed screw and being prevented from rotating about shaft 15 by the teeth 15a engaging the rack 20. Similarly, rotation of shaft 15 will result in feed member 21, and with it the work carrier 24, being displaced in the horizontal direction at right angle to the shafts 14 and 15, member 16 during this operation being prevented from rotating about the shaft 14 by the threads 14h engaging the threads 16a. There is thus 4assured the displacement of the carrier 24 in both coordinate directions by the shafts 14 and 15 substantially independently of each other and with a minimum of actuating elements, whereby to in turn result in the accurate and faithful sewing of the pattern recorded upon the tape 11 or equivalent storage device.

In the foregoing the invention has been described in reference to a specic illustrative device or embodiment. It will be evident, however, that variations and modifications, as well as the substitution of equivalent parts or elements for those shown herein for illustration, may be made without departing from the broader scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawing are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than in a restrictive sense.

I claim:

1. In an automatic sewing machine including a bed, a hollow standard at one end of said bed, a hollow upper arm extending from said standard parallel to said bed and terminating in a sewing head having mounted therein a reciprocating needle, a loop taker mounted below said bed for cooperation with said needle, a work-supporting carrier upon said bed, and control means including program storage and retrieving means having a pair of output feed shafts providing elemental rotational feed movements for displacing said carrier in two coordinate directions for the sewing of a pattern upon the work supported by said carrier in accordance with a program stored; the improvement consisting in the mounting of said storage and retrieving means within said standard and operating mechanism for said carrier comprising a pair of horizontal and parallel rotatable drive shafts mounted within said arm, coupling means between each said drive shafts and one of the feed shafts, one of said drive shafts being provided with spiral threads and t-he other drive shaft being provided with longitudinal teeth, and actuating means passing through an opening of said drive arm between said shafts and said carrier comprising a first actuating member having internal threads operably engaging said first drive shaft, a second actuating member relatively slidably mounted upon said first member in a horizontal direction and transverse to said drive shafts, said second member including a rack operably engaging said second drive shaft, and means connecting said second member with said carrier, whereby to displace said carrier in coordinate directions parallel and at right angle to said drive shafts in accordance with the rotational movements of the respective feed shafts.

2. In operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, said second member being slidably mounted upon said first member by a dovetail joint.

3. In operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, said first drive shaft being positioned close to and above said second drive shaft, said first nember including an internally threaded yoke portion engaging said first shaft and having a bore freely passing said second drive shaft, and a pair of spaced and parallel depending arms extending from said yoke portion, and said second member being slidably mounted upon the ends of said arms and having an extension forming a rack projecting between Said arms and engaging said first drive shaft.

4. In operating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, said first drive shaft being positioned close to and above said second drive shaft, said first member including an internally threaded yoke portion engaging said rst drive shaft and having a bore freely passing said second drive shaft, and a pair of spaced parallel depending arms eX- tending from said yoke portion, and said second member being slidably mounted upon the ends of said arms by a dovetail joint between said members and having an upward extension forming a rack projecting between said arms and engaging said second drive shaft.

5. In a sewing machine including a bed, a standard at one end of said bed, a hollow upper arm extending from said standard parallel to said bed and terminating in a sewing head having mounted therein a reciprocatory needle, a loop taker mounted below said bed, a work supporting carrier displaceable upon said bed for cooperation with said needle and loop taker, to produce a predetermined stitching pattern on a workpiece supported by said carrier; of operating means for said carrier comprising a first rotatable and threaded drive shaft mounted in said arm, a second rotatable and toothed drive shaft mounted in said arm parallel to said first shaft, and actuating mechanism extending through an opening of said arm to apply coordinate feed movements from said shafts to said carrier comprising a first internally threaded member operably engaging said first shaft and a second member having an outer end supporting said carrier and having its inner end relatively slidably mounted upon said first member in a horizontal direction and transverse to said shafts, and a rack upon the inner end of said second member operably engaging said second shaft, whereby to displace said carrier in coordinate directions parallel and at right angle to said shafts in accordance with the elenerfital rotational feed movements of said respective drive s a ts.

6. The combination with a workpiece carrier displaceable upon a horizontal supporting surface for cooperation with a reciprocatory stitch-forming tool, for producing a desired stitching pattern in a workpiece by displacement of said carrier in a pair of coordinate directions; of operating mechanism for said carrier comprising a first threaded drive shaft and `a second toothed drive shaft disposed close to and below said first shaft, both said shafts being parallel and rotatably mounted above said surface, and actuating means to apply coordinate rotary feed movements from said shafts to said carrier comprising a first member having an internally threaded yoke portion engaging said first shaft and a pair of depending parallel arms extending from said yoke portion and having bores to freely pass said second shaft, a second member having its outer end connected to said carrier, a dovetail joint relatively slidably connecting said second member with said arms in a horizontal direction and transverse to said shafts, and a central upward extension of said second member projecting between said arms and terminating in a rack engaging said second shaft, whereby to displace said carrier in coordinate directions parallel and at right angle to said shafts in accordance with the elemental rotational feed movements of the respective drive shafts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 579,614 3/97 Steward et al. 112-90 2,972,907 2/61 Bulland 74-750 3,001,489 9/61 Bond et al. 112-102 X 3,029,758 4/62 Hurme et al. 112-102 3,072,081 1/63 Milligan et al. 112-2 3,112,718 l2/63 Bono 112-102 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN AN AUTOMATIC SEWING MACHINE INCLUDING A BED, A HOLLOW STANDARD AT ONE END OF SAID BED, A HOLLOW UPPER ARM EXTENDING FROM SAID STANDARD PARALLEL TO SAID BED AND TERMINATING IN A SEWING HEAD HAVING MOUNTED THEREIN A RECIPROCATING NEEDLE, A LOOP TAKER MOUNTED BELOW SAID BED FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID NEEDLE, A WORK-SUPPORTING CARRIER UPON SAID BED, AND CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING PROGRAM STORAGE AND RETRIEVING MEANS HAVING A PAIR OF OUTPUT FEED SHAFTS PROVIDING ELEMENTAL ROTATIONAL FEED MOVEMENTS FOR DISPLACING SAID CARRIER IN TWO COORDINATE DIRECTIONS FOR THE SEWING OF A PATTERN UPON THE WORK SUPPORTED BY SAID CARRIER IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PROGRAM STORED; THE IMPROVEMENT CONSISTING IN THE MOUNTING OF SAID STORAGE AND RETRIEVING MEANS WITHIN SAID STANDARD AND OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SAID CARRIER COMPRISING A PAIR OF HORIZONTAL AND PARALLEL ROTATABLE DRIVE SHAFTS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID ARM, COUPLING MEANS BETWEEN EACH SAID DRIVE SHAFTS AND ONE OF THE FEED SHAFTS, ONE OF SAID DRIVE SHAFTS BEING PROVIDED WITH SPIRAL THREADS AND THE OTHER DRIVE SHAFT BEING PROVIDED WITH LONGITUDINAL TEETH, AND ACTUATING MEANS PASSING THROUGH AN OPENING OF SAID DRIVE ARM BETWEEN SAID SHAFTS AND SAID CARRIER COMPRISING A FIRST ACTUATING MEMBER HAVING INTERNAL THREADS OPERABLY ENGAGING SAID FIRST DRIVE SHAFT, A SECOND ACTUATING MEMBER RELATIVELY SLIDABLY MOUNTED UPON SAID FIRST MEMBER IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AND TRANSVERSELY TO SAID DRIVE SHAFTS, SAID SECOND MEMBER INCLUDING A RACK OPERABLY ENGAGING SAID SECOND DRIVE SHAFT, AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID SECOND MEMBER WITH SAID CARRIER, WHEREBY TO DISPLACE SAID CARRIER IN COORDINATE DIRECTIONS PARALLEL AND AT RIGHT ANGLE TO SAID DRIVE SHAFTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ROTATIONAL MOVEMENTS OF THE RESPECTIVE FEED SHAFTS. 